Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled policymakers could potentially raise interest rates in July and September to curb persistent price pressures and cool a surprisingly resilient U.S. labor market.
Asked whether Fed officials now anticipate they will raise rates every other meeting after skipping a hike this month, Powell said that may or may not happen and that he wouldn’t rule out consecutive rate hikes. He reiterated that most policymakers’ forecasts show they expect to hike at least two more times this year.
“Although policy is restrictive it may not be restrictive enough and it has not been restrictive for long enough,” Powell said Wednesday during a panel hosted by the European Central Bank for a forum in Sintra, Portugal.
